Entering the Ring
by Nispedana 2
Summary: ONESHOT. [Set after the 12-min FBI pilot] In an AU where they chose differently than in the movie. LoVe


THANK YOU FOR CLICKING THE LINK and for giving this story a chance. I hope you like this! But, really, whatever you thought (even the negative ones) please give me the honor of knowing them. :)

**DISCLAIMER: **I do not own Veronica Mars

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**Entering the Ring  
**You can't win outside it

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From the eye of a bystander bored enough to watch people passing by, one would think that Veronica Mars was simply sauntering along the two meter concrete sidewalk of downtown Los Angeles. After all, her arguably too-formal office clothes did not make her youthful face look any more mature.

And maybe they were right. At the moment, Veronica was partially just appreciating the new place (having spent four years studying two degrees in California and another year training in Quantico); the tall buildings, the lively atmosphere, and the somewhat peaceful spirit compared to what it was when the sun went down. And there remained the fact that she was now in the same state as Neptune, and she felt light—_relaxed_—because of it.

Her feet stopped at a magazine stall, her peripheral view apparently catching some interesting image. And there it was, she blinked as she took it out for a closer inspection, another magazine (tabloid) with Logan in the front page. Apparently he hooked up with a co-star in his latest action movie.

She almost smirked, knowing this was merely gossip, and hid the little twinge in her chest at the mere image. They weren't dating, not anymore, but she kept her contact with _everyone_—even with Logan and Piz, initial awkwardness aside—albeit it had been years since she actually saw most of them in person. Someone like her simply did not have many friends, and those who remained proved themselves to be true. It was automatic for her to begin treasuring them, particularly that one person she'd been through most with.

As she listened to the chatters of the people who pass by, Veronica recalled how Mac and Wallace reacted when they found out Logan's following his parents' footsteps. But the fact was that Logan entered the industry to spite his father, even in death. After all, not _everyone_ from a twisted family who entered show business would turn out a nut job. Logan decided to prove the assumptions wrong—and once again she was reminded of their days as a awkward friends and then as a couple, where he exceeded her expectations too many times.

'_No one wins by being outside the ring—let alone running from it' _He said to her once, over the phone, at a time when they had a few time zones between them when she inquired more on his unexpected choice.

In retrospect, it was probably the reason why she pushed away the thoughts of going on the safe route and entering the FBI instead.

If she didn't she'd probably be a lawyer.

Ha. _Lawyer_.

'_I crack myself up_'

But her satisfied 'I'm-so-funny' smirk disappeared when she realized her thumb was caressing the thick glossy paper that was Logan's face.

She quickly put it back to the stall as if it burned, and strode with quasi-confidence to the LA headquarters.

…

She sat next to Callie, who was then sitting at the auditorium's isle. They had become good friends since she saved her life from that maniac a few days prior. That and the rarely-impressed Callie commended her acting as a high school student. This made her smile, but then an image of Woody passed by her head and it disappeared.

"You alright?"

"Just remembered another paedophile whose life I destroyed."

Callie smirked back. "From what I've read you had a knack for making a lot of bad guys' lives miserable." She said, apparently finding interest in her paper. Veronica did not mind though. Callie now reminded her of her times with Lilly, then with Meg, and with Mac and now she remembered how she missed them, and how glad she was to finally get to visit them (and their memories) that weekend.

The door opened and she noted that Omar and Brady weren't late this time. They were precisely two seconds earlier than the director. His scratched his beard. It got longer and once again he reminded some agents that they seriously need to put their target behind bars soon else he'd have lice on his face and he'd be infecting them all.

The next few minutes were filled with idle chat and it was cut by the director opening the white folder on his desk. "New case." He said with his serious voice. "Our sources show that the Nicolo obtained new connections around here." The Nicolo was a very slippery mafia from Switzerland, ironically one of the safest countries on earth. It branched out across the Western Europe then (presumably due to the lack of clientele in their home base), and now reached Los Angeles.

"Interestingly, we found no connections to infamous syndicates around like Nash gang and the wonderland gang." He paused. "Nicolo chose a group that isn't 'beeping' on our radar. Yet.

"They're a group called the Fitzpatricks, based on a town called Neptune half-an-hour ride from here." He said, oblivious to Veronica's consequent eye-widening gape. "So… I need four to five people in this for now. Any volunteers?"

Of course she raised her hand.

"Veronica Mars." The director called, sounding surprised and impressed. "Anyone else?"

Her good ol' partner Carter didn't seem to mind accompanying her this time. Callie raised her hand, too, and then followed by Seth (she mused he was probably allergic to letting her hog _all_ the attention), and then another veteran who Carter threatened with his eyes. After all, Carter would not want to be stuck with a bunch of rookies.

In any case, it seemed she'll be days earlier than expected. But it won't be just a visit, she corrected, smiling.

It seems like she'll finally be entering the ring.

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…

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Thank you for reading!

I may continue this sometime in the future but whatever you think (I'm fine with rants and flames)  
I want to know them!


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